Lifting gate

ABSTRACT

A farm gate adapted to be opened by collapsing vertically. Ropes fastened to the gate and runover pulleys to posts adjacent the track entering and leaving the gate provide means for raising the gate. An over-the-center arrangement holds the gate open until another pull on the rope triggers a release mechanism to close the gate.

{J1me 11;. States atet 1151 amafiw Sundermann Feb. 1, 1972 [54] LIFTINGGATE 611,608 10/1898 Ccmpher ..l60/ 150 E [72] Inventor: Henry L.Sunder-menu, Box 79, Rte. 4, 2 59 l Sioux Falls 5. Dak. 57107 5 X1,253,742 1/1918 Stedman ..l60/l45 [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1970 PrimaryExaminer-J. Karl Bell [211 32023 AttorneyLuc% J. De Koster [52] US. Cl...160/144, 49/288, 160/150 [57] ABSTRACT Field of Search 160,13 6450 Afarm gate adapted to be opened by collapsing vertically. 297 Ropesfastened to the gate and runover pulleys to posts adjacent the trackentering and leaving the gate provide means [56] Regemnm (mad forraising the gate. An over-the-center arrangement holds the gate openuntil another pull on the rope triggers a release UNITED STATES PATENTSmechanism to close the gate.

66,668 7/1867 Ackerson et al ..l60/ 150 5 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresPATENIED FEB H972 3,638,710

sum 1 OF 2 mvamoa Henry Sundermon BY Aim $24:

is Afl'y.

PATENTEDFEB 1m 1638.710

SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR. Henry Sundermon wi /M LIFIING GATE BACKGROUND ANDSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to farm gatesparticularly, but may also be used for other types of gate. Specificallythis invention has to do with a gate adapted to be opened and closed ina vertical plane and which may be opened and closed by alternatelypulling on one rope system.

Previously most gates have been of the type which opens and closes byswinging about a vertical pivot. Such gates are customarily sturdy,inexpensive and somewhat difficult to open and close. The difficulty inopening and closing is much greater when there is snow on the groundadjacent the gate to interfere with its operation. Such gates alsoordinarily must be hand operated, and automatic operation is difficultto arrange.

My invention makes possible a gate which can be operated easily andconveniently from the seat of a tractor merely by pulling a rope. Thegate lifts vertically, so that all obstacles to swinging and the likeare avoided. Furthermore, by my invention it is possible by mechanicalmeans to open the gate by pulling on a first rope and close it againeither by a successive puil on the same rope or a similar pull onanother rope connected to the same mechanism on the gate. This isaccomplished by a simple over-the-center" mechanism and withoutrequiring any motor or the like.

FIGURES FIG. 1 is an elevational view of my gate in a closed or loweredposition,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view ofthe gate as in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the gate latch post apart from thegate,

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the gate in an open or raised positionwith part of the gate broken away,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the spring mechanism,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the pulley mechanism, and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail view of the operating arm mechanism in anengaged position.

DESCRIPTION Briefly my device comprises a gate composed of longitudinalmembers pivotally mounted to a post for upward pivotal motion, andmechanism for pulling the members upward to an over-the-center positionin which the gate will normally rest, and further mechanism whereby thegate can be pushed back simply and again be closed.

More particularly, and with reference to the drawings, 1 provide that mygate be mounted on a post or a framework 10 which can be attached to apost. One leg 11 of the framework extends substantially above the gatefor purposes to be made clear hereinafter.

The main slats 12 of the gate are longitudinal members hinged to abracket 13 on the framework. This bracket is sloped away from the gateat its upper end. Crossmembers 14 may be provided at intervals along theslats, and an end member 15 defines the outer edge of the gate. Thesecrossmernbers and end members are pivoted to the slats always inarrangement to provide for a parallelogram pattern so that the gate cancollapse to the position shown in FIG. 4.

The gate is adapted to close against a post 16 adjacent the end member15. Latching means are provided on this post. These means includeV-shaped troughlike brackets on the post. The lower bracket 17 simplyprovides a socket into which the lower part of the end member 15 mayslide. The upper bracket 18 is also V-shaped but includes a slopingcatch 19 which slopes downward and away from the post 16.

The top slat 12 carries a cylinder 20 adjacent the catch 19. A slidinglatch member 21 slides through the cylinder 20 and normally engages thecatch 19. This member 21 is preferably biassed to a latched position inany manner well known in the art. Thus when the gate is down in theposition of FIG. 1, the latch member 21 engages the catch 19 to latchthe gate.

The mechanism for unlatching the gate is an integral part of the liftingmechanism also. This includes a rope 23, cable or chain or the likeattached to the sliding member 21. This rope extends from the point ofattachment to the operating arm 24, and from there over pulleys 25mounted on top of the leg 11. In order to operate the gate from bothsides, it is necessary that there be two ropes. Therefore, I preferablyprovide a single strand from the member 20 to the end 26 of the arm 24.At that point, I either attach an additional strand of rope, divide therope, or otherwise continue with separated strands.

The attachment of the rope to the arm 24 may also be made by variousmeans. Since the latch member should be released before the gate islifted, there must be a small amount of free play here. This can beaccomplished by allowing some slippage of the rope 23 through a loop orthe like at the end 26 of the arm 24, or by allowing some play in thearm itself.

The arm 24 is pivoted in a mounting bracket 27 on the framework 10 andis connected to the lowermost slat 12 by means of a rod 28. The rod 28is pivoted to the arm 24 and is loosely connected to the slat 12. Thislatter connection may take the form of an car 29 on the slat throughwhich the rod 28 passes, and bracketing which may be a couple ofthreaded nuts 30. The bracketing may be loose enough to allow the playin the movement of the arm 24 as previously mentioned.

To counterbalance the weight of the gate, both to assist in lifting andto avoid damage in dropping it, I provide a damping arrangement. Thisincludes a tension spring 32 fixed to the upper end of the leg 11. Atits other end, the spring carries a plate 33. A chain 34 is attached tothe gate at the uppermost rail 12 by means ofa finned bracket 35. Aseries of openings in the bracket 35 provide for adjustment of thelocation of connection between the gate and the chain. The chain 34 thenpasses through an opening in the plate 33 which includes means, wellknown in the art, to allow the plate to be fixed to the chain at anyparticular link. By this means, the position of connection on the chain,and therefore the maximum extension of the spring can be adjusted.

The chain 34 extends within the spring 33 and attaches to the plunger ofa hydraulic damping cylinder 36. An extending rod 37 may well providethe means of connection. Thus, particularly as the gate is lowered, thechain will pull the cylinder out, and the damping effect will prevent asudden slamming down of the gate, and instead allows steady drop untilthe gate is latched.

The means for control of the gate is built into the arm 24 and is bestshown in FIG. 7. Without this means, the gate is principally a liftinggate with no particular advantages over other lifting gates exceptperhaps the ease of latching and the careful closing provided by thedamping mechanism. However, with the control mechanism, the gate becomesvery advantageous since it can be opened by a pull on a rope at one sideof the gate, and be closed by a similar pull on a rope on the other sideof the gate.

As shown in FIG. 7, the arm 24 consists, in fact, of two segments, anouter portion 39 and an inner part 40. The outer part 39 is providedwith a channel-shaped housing 41 at one end. This housing is closed onthe top and two sides, but is open at the bottom. The two parts arepivoted together by means of a pivot pin 42 extending through thehousing 41 and the inner part 40. The pivot pin 42 may be a part of therod 28 so that the pivotal axis between the two parts 39 and 40 may bethe same as that between the arm 24 and the rod 28 although this is nota requirement.

The articulated arm 24 composed of the two parts 39 and 40 is normallyheld in a straight line relationship by a latch member 43 pivoted in thehousing and engaging a jaw 44 attached to the end 45 of the part 40. Themember 43 is pivoted at 46 to the housing 41. The latch point 47 formsone leg of the member 43 and is adapted to engage the jaw 44 when themember 43 is in the position shown in FIG. 7.

The member 43 also has a weighted arm 48 which extends from the pivotaxis 46. This arm is bent as shown so that it will bias the point 47 tothe position shown in FIG. '7 when the arm 24 is horizontal orapproaches that position. However, as the arm 24 is raised, the weightof the latch member arm 48 will cause the member 43 to move to analternate or unlatched position shown in broken lines in FIG. 7. Adashpot mechanism 50 engaged by a plate 51 on the member 43 will delaythe movement somewhat so as to prevent accidental operation of therelease. Further, it should be pointed out that while pressure existsbetween the point 47 and the jaw 44, no movement of the arm 43 would belikely to take place.

in operation, then, to lift the gate, one of the ropes 23 is pulled fromone side of the gate. The first action is to release the sliding member21 from the catch 19. Additional pulling raises the arm 24 which is heldin its straight or unbroken position by engagement of the point 47 withthe jaw 44. As this arm is raised, it pulls the gate up through actionof the rod 28 and with the assistance of the counterbalancing spring 32.As the gate rises, the pressure between the point 47 and jaw 44 keepsthem engaged so that the gate can be fully opened. This pressurecontinues until the rod 28 moves past the pivot point between the innerpart 40 and the bracket 27. At this point the gate tends to pull theinner part 40 in the open direction so that it holds the gate open.Therefore, all tension in the rod 28 is released and all pressurebetween the point 47 and jaw 44 is gone.

At this point the weight of the arm 48 causes the slow unlatching of thelatch mechanism against the dashpot and shortly the latch is completelyreleased. The gate, however, remains open, resting against a stop 53near the top of the leg 11 since it is beyond center.

The outer part 39 of the arm 24 also rests substantially adjacent to afulcrum member 54 on the leg 11. Thus, an additional pull on either rope23 will cause the arm 24 to break the pivot 42 and the outer part 39 toact as a lever over the fulcrum 54. This lever action moves the innerpart 40 of the arm 24 back past the pivot point to a position in whichthe force of gravity pulls the gate downward. The spring 32 and clampingmechanism operating through the cylinder 36 slows, but does not stop themovement until the sliding member 21 is again latched behind the catch19. Then as the outer part 39 of the arm drops to horizontal, the latchmechanism in the articulated arm again becomes engaged and the processcan be repeated.

Thus, I have provided a lifting gate which can be readily opened andclosed without dismounting from tractor or horse, and therefore can savemuch time and effort for the operator.

1 claim:

1. A gate mechanism comprising post means, slat means pivoted to saidpost means, said slat means being adapted to move from a lower or closedposition to an upper or open position, said open position being suchthat the weight of the gate tends to hold it in an open position, armmeans for said gate attached to said slat means, said arm meansincluding an articulated arm, operating means in said arm means adaptedto hold said arm substantially straight in a pulling relationship tosaid slat means as said gate is raised to its open position, pullingmeans attached to said arm means to move said arm means to its openposition, said operating means being releasable as said slat meansreaches its open position whereby sequential pulling on said pullingmeans causes said articulated arm to break to reverse the movement ofsaid slat means across the center whereby said gate is returned to aclosed position.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said arm comprises two parts pivotedtogether and said operating means includes a latch member engageablebetween said two parts.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said latch member includes a weightedarm arranged so that gravity will cause said member to latch said partof said arms in the substantially straight relationship when said arm isnearly horizontal, but will release said member as said arm approachesthe vertical.

4. The device of claim 3 in which dashpot means engages said latchmember to delay movement thereof.

5. The device of claim 1 in which one part of said arm engages a fulcrumon said post when said gate is in its open position whereby a subsequentpull on said pulling member causes the breaking of the arm at the pivotbetween said parts and causes said gate to return past center to fall toits closed position.

1. A gate mechanism comprising post means, slat means pivoted to saidpost means, said slat means being adapted to move from a lower or closedposition to an upper or open position, said open position being suchthat the weight of the gate tends to hold it in an open position, armmeans for said gate attached to said slat means, said arm meansincluding an articulated arm, operating means in said arm means adaptedto hold said arm suBstantially straight in a pulling relationship tosaid slat means as said gate is raised to its open position, pullingmeans attached to said arm means to move said arm means to its openposition, said operating means being releasable as said slat meansreaches its open position whereby sequential pulling on said pullingmeans causes said articulated arm to break to reverse the movement ofsaid slat means across the center whereby said gate is returned to aclosed position.
 2. The device of claim 1 in which said arm comprisestwo parts pivoted together and said operating means includes a latchmember engageable between said two parts.
 3. The device of claim 2 inwhich said latch member includes a weighted arm arranged so that gravitywill cause said member to latch said part of said arms in thesubstantially straight relationship when said arm is nearly horizontal,but will release said member as said arm approaches the vertical.
 4. Thedevice of claim 3 in which dashpot means engages said latch member todelay movement thereof.
 5. The device of claim 1 in which one part ofsaid arm engages a fulcrum on said post when said gate is in its openposition whereby a subsequent pull on said pulling member causes thebreaking of the arm at the pivot between said parts and causes said gateto return past center to fall to its closed position.